The Consulting Bible

How to Launch and Grow a Seven-Figure Consulting Business

Alan Weiss

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781119776888
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Beratung

The new edition of bestselling real-world guide to consultancy success, from the "Rock Star of Consulting" Alan Weiss

The secondeditionof The Consulting Bible: Everything You Need to Know toCreateand Expand a Seven-Figure Consulting Practice remains the most comprehensive and practicalguide to theconsulting profession, from launch to high growth, from marketing to implementation.Legendary consultant, speaker, and bestselling authorAlan Weissshows you howto create an independent or boutique consulting practice and take it to seven-figure success.Step-by-step, this invaluable resourceguides you throughattractingclients, maximizingyour value, andachievingyour careergoals.

In the decade since the first publication of The Consulting Bible, an array ofsignificant developmentshasdramaticallyimpacted the consulting profession: shiftsin social consciousness, the Covid-19 pandemic, tele-consultingand virtual meetings, the globalization of the economy, the growth of social media, and many more.This exhaustively revised new edition providesspecific approaches and techniquesformasteringthenew consulting environmentand turningvolatility and disruptioninto unlimited opportunities.Designed tohelp youbecometheauthority and expertthatorganizationsturn to again and again, thisbook is yourone-stop resource for:

• Buildinga strongglobalbrandthat drawspeople to you
• Marketingremotelyto reducecosts and allow for higher fees
• Masteringthelatest implementation techniques
• Forgingstrong relationships with thebuyers of a new generation
• Selecting theconsulting methodologythat best fits your requirements
• Writingproposals andcreating testimonials and references
• Using advanced technology toselland deliver your services

Written for newcomers and veterans alike, The Consulting Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Expand a Seven-Figure Consulting Practice, Second Edition, is essential readingforeverysolo consultant, entrepreneur, and principal ofasmallconsultingfirm.

Section II
Exodus: Consulting as a Business

The routes, techniques, and means to overcome obstacles and avoid wandering. It is legitimate and important to want to help people.

Chapter 4
The Journey: How to Market Your Value Rapidly and Profitably

Creating Gravity and Attraction

The Market Gravity^® Wheel is a representation of your options to attract people to you. The longer you're in business, the more you should be:

• Attracting people because of your repute and expertise.
• Gaining business through referral business from clients.
• Gaining business through repeat business from clients.

That combination should amount to about 85 percent of your annual business. If you accompany that with my belief that you need to jettison the bottom 15 percent of your business every couple of years, then you can see that you'll need to generate a modest amount of new business, but not that much.

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There are three aspects to any sale: The immediate payment for the immediate project or advisory role; referral business; and expansion business. Most consultants settle for only the first, and very few manage to exploit all three.

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Too many consultants are struggling well into their careers because they fail to implement this philosophy and strategy. They become immersed in the delivery of their work, don't market, and then face the feast‐or‐famine syndrome: Either they have work that they're being paid to deliver or they are desperately seeking such work.

This is the proverbial “roller coaster” syndrome. If you're not constantly attracting business, it's hard to climb the next hill and often you don't have the momentum to do it.

They are neither ant nor grasshopper. They are road kill. Beware of the crows.

You should jettison the lower end of your client list because:

• The client is no longer profitable.
• You are bored with the work.
• The client is troublesome.
• The work is unpleasant.

Ironically, you're doing the client a favor as well as yourself. Many clients you keep solely through inertia or a false sense of loyalty. But your passion and interests are not present, so you cheat the client of your real value and efforts. Simply apply this language:

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“My practice has moved on to a place where I can't provide the focus and attention that your issues deserve, and I'm going to recommend some people who will bring new energy and relevant skills to you. I'm thankful for your past business and support, but don't want to take advantage of that relationship and can't provide in the future what you're going to require.”

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Then move on.

In addition, you want to create new business for the following additional reasons:

• Improve or change your markets.
• Learn new skills and gain new experiences.
• Gain credibility with your client list and diversity.
• Improve your visibility.
• Create more interest and fun.

However, the vast majority of your annual revenues should come from existing clients and their referrals. Consequently, you can't afford to market solely when you're not delivering. You must be marketing at all times, meaning that a portion of your marketing effort is passive, in that it's in place and always working for you, while some is active and you're engaged even if you're also delivering.

FIGURE 4.1 Market Gravity Wheel

Figure 4.1 depicts the classic Market Gravity Wheel I developed and have continued to evolve as technology and society have evolved.

We discuss some of the major elements briefly here, and you'll see in the remainder of the book how they blend into your marketing plans.

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The Gospel

None of us in consulting was trained or educated to be a marketer. But this is the marketing business. So we had better get good at it.

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• Referrals. We've already discussed the importance of asking for referrals at least quarterly, not only from clients, but from professional acquaintances, social contacts, civic involvement contacts, and others.
• Commercially published books. If referrals are the platinum standard, to be the author of a published book is the gold standard. More books are being published than ever before in both hard copy and electronically (and audibly). You do not need a best seller; you need a book that will cause buyers to say, “We need to talk to this person.”
• Blogs. Blogs are ideal sources to create and manifest expertise. You must have intellectual property, offer provocative ideas, post text/audio/video several times a week, and welcome commentary. Visit my blog on my site, alanweiss.com, to see the formatting and content.
• Networking. Networking is best done with strangers who don't have preconceptions, and not to collect business cards, but rather to find one or two key buyers or recommenders.
• Pro bono work. If you can select a cause you believe in that can use your assistance on a board or committee, or where you can provide your skills (strategy, leadership, team building, and so on), you'll find yourself an instant peer of the executives and community leaders who are serving in similar capacities.
• Manifestos. Create a dozen provocative, almost incendiary points about your expertise and why people should pay attention. If you're consulting with accountants, your manifesto might include (A) Why compliance work is like termites, rotting your building, (B) You are underpaid and over‐delivering because that's your default.
• Speaking. Even if you are not a professional speaker (viz., also generating revenues through keynotes and training), you can still market by presenting in front of rooms filled with buyers and recommenders. This is best done through trade associations.¹
• Web site. Your web site is not a sales vehicle. True buyers—which is why I've been so careful to specify who they are—do not troll the web to find resources (though low‐level people do). Your web site is a credibility site. Use it to highlight your thought leadership, intellectual property, and overall stature.²
• Testimonials. As with referrals, ask for testimonials from every client...